SuperUnited Croatia: MVL top scorer on the first day of blitz

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
7/14/2024 – Fabiano Caruana has a 4½-point lead over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So going into the final 9 rounds of blitz at the SuperUnited Tournament in Zagreb. MVL was the top scorer on Saturday, as he obtained 6½/9 points after collecting 5 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Caruana extends his lead

With 9 rounds of blitz left to be played at the SuperUnited Tournament in Croatia, Fabiano Caruana has an impressive 4½-point lead over his closest chasers, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So. MVL caught So in second place after scoring 6½ points on the first day of blitz, as the Frenchman grabbed 5 wins and only lost to Ian Nepomniachtchi on Saturday.

Caruana collected 6/9 points on the fourth day of action, with some lucky breaks helping him score a few extra half points — for example, in round 2, Gukesh failed to find the right way to give a check in a double-edged position.

Here Black wins with 47...Qe3+, and the white monarch will be effectively cornered on the kingside. Gukesh went for 47...Qxg3+ instead, and Caruana managed not only to escape with a draw but to win the game after his Indian opponent blundered again soon after. After the text, the king managed to find shelter on the queenside eventually.

Fabiano Caruana

Sole leader Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes

It was not all good luck for Caruana, though, who left a whole rook en prise in his round-6 encounter against Alireza Firouzja.

White is a whole rook up, and can win the game either with the simple 38.Qf7+ Kh7 39.Rg2 or with the more flashy 38.Rf8+ Kxf8 39.Qxd6+. Neither of these moves appeared on the board, however, as Caruana played 38.Rc8+, failing to notice that the queen is guarding that very square from h3.

This was not a case of mutual blindness, as Firouzja quickly grabbed the rook and went on to win the game. The French GM collected 6 points on Saturday, and stands 5 points behind the leader in the overall standings.

Alireza Firouzja

Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Grand Chess Tour 2024

Nepo files an appeal

There was a bit of controversy in the final round played on Saturday. Nepomniachtchi was completely winning with black against So, with both players in deep time trouble.

A few minutes later, it was informed that Nepo had lost the game on time, and then had filed an appeal to correct the game’s result, given what he considered to be unruly behaviour by his opponent. The arbiters decided to keep the game’s original score (a win for So).

Nepo later shared a video from his game against So from the Levitov Chess Week Tournament last year, noting that So had behaved similarly on both occasions.

Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi

Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 9 - Blitz

All games - Blitz

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.